Archive for March, 2014

The partner and I were invited to visit the latest exhibit at Marina Bay Sands’ ArtScience Museum – Dinosaurs, Dawn to Extinction. The partner has been fascinated with Dinosaurs since he was a kid and given the chance would have enjoyed spending all day wondering around.

Occupying over 3,700 square meters of floor space, the exhibition will feature more than 400 fossils and models, as well as over 50 original artworks. This first-of-its-kind exhibition combines four exhibitions from the renowned American Museum of Natural History, San Juan National Science Museum, SCI! Expo at Monash University and artist Peter Trusler. “Dinosaurs: Dawn to Extinction” will take visitors on a journey from the Precambrian, Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous time periods. The highly interactive exhibition will also feature some of the oldest dinosaurs fossils ever discovered on the planet and many little-known species, some never before seen by the public.

While Dinosaurs are the main attraction there is a lot more to this exhibition than just some old bones and big teeth; although there are plenty of these to be found. Instead the Curators have strived to explain the rise of many types of animals and mass extinctions that have occurred in Earth’s history and how these have shaped the evolution of Dinosaurs and ancient reptiles through to mammals and birds. You get see how changing continents and weather patterns lead to huge changes in evolution. To me this adds a great deal more to the Dino story than just displaying life size skeletons and telling us that these creatures were very big.

For those with children there are plenty of additional activities to keep them occupied but are also educational. Another interesting add on to the exhibition is the free App for iPhone and android phones called Dawn2extinction. This app provides additional information about the exhibition and Dinosaurs but it is also interactive. Throughout the display there are strategically located icons that you scan with your phone and unlock new features including a T-Rex game! The app is free but just like the Dinos it is BIG! About 150mb so you may want to download it at home before venturing into the Museum.

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Not all salmon tastes the same, that’s what I found out last week after I tasted the Aurora salmon from arctic Norway. So smooth, so flavourful, and so delightful to eat, I have to say that I won’t look at salmon in quite the same way ever again.

What is Aurora Salmon you may ask? Aurora Salmon is meticulously grown in the artic regions of Norway, as compared to Norwegian salmon from waters nearer to the southern parts of Norway. At such high latitudes, this is where the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) can be spotted. The fresh cold clear waters within this pristine environment hold temperatures stable at a consistent average of 3 to 4 degrees Celsius in winter and 5 to 10 degrees Celsius in the summer. This, together with the optimal currents and oxygen levels, ensure the slow growth of the Aurora Salmon, resulting in a higher fat content than other farmed salmon which can take a shorter time to be harvested.

In fact, Aurora Salmon is already one of the most sought after brands in Japan, and now, for the 1st time, you will be able to purchase Aurora Salmon exclusively at all Kuriya Fish Market outlets. The fish is air flown fresh into Singapore within 2-3 days of harvesting, so you can be assured of Aurora Salmon’s freshness.

I had the privilege to be amongst one of the first few Singaporeans to taste the amazing Aurora Salmon at the launch of the Aurora Salmon at Kuriya. The pricing is the same as if you were to buy the “normal” Norwegian salmon. With salmon being a good source of protein, vitamins D, A and B12, iodine, antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids, the salmon is really our wish come true for great tasting yet healthy food.

I’m not lying when I say these salmon taste different from what I’m more accustomed to. They really do have a deeper flavour and you can taste the richness and fattiness of the flesh! If only I could have the entire tray!

Watching these chefs slice through the salmon was like watching hot knives slice through cold butter. Blink and you miss it! In a matter of minutes, they had reduced the whole salmon into numerous sashimi slices!

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Checked out the War of the Roses floral display at Gardens by the Bay’s Flower Dome 2 weeks ago. If you love roses, you really have to come see the display. I love going to the Flower Dome. It’s like a cheating method for me to feel like I’m deep in the heart of nature, without having to sweat it out thanks to the air-conditioning! Kinda like why we love visiting parks and gardens when we are in temperate countries.

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You may be familiar with PasarBella located at The Grandstand, aka the former Turf City. I think many people have visited at least once, but admittedly, the location is quite out of the way. Did you know that PasarBella has decided to bring the experience to a more convenient location, right outside Marina Bay Sands? It’s called PasarBella & Friends Go to Town! Cute huh.

You still get the same vibrant and convivial food and lifestyle market, except that it is all outdoors and facing the picturesque Singapore River and the tall buildings of Marina Bay. There are about 20 traders which include existing PasarBella traders as well as non PasarBella purveyors. One thing’s for sure, having a beer and snacking on some pork crackling under the cool night air sure is different from eating indoors.

Here are some pictures I took on the opening day on 7th March. Pardon the hazy background because it was bloody hazy that day. I’m SO GLAD the rains are here again, which makes visiting PasarBella & Friends Go to Town more enjoyable. The whole thing will be there until 30 March 2014 and is totally free entry.

Operating hours are :

4.30pm – 10pm on Mondays to Fridays

10 am – 10 pm on Saturdays and Sundays

These are Swirls Bake Shop cupcakes the kind BFF passed to me. These are available here at PasarBella! You can get over 100 flavours from Swirls.

With any luck, the rains the last few days would have washed the haze away. Otherwise, outdoor activities are best kept to a minimal.

Now here’s a place that is really old school and out of the ordinary. Have you ever heard of restaurants located within condos? Marine Parade Road may sound familiar to you, especially if you live in the East, but unless you’ve travelled past sitting on the upper deck of a double decker bus, you probably might not know of the existence of a row of shops within the Laguna Park Condominium. A row of trees and hedges pretty much block the shops from view, and they are not allowed to advertise.

I happen to know of its existence because this was the route I would take on my way to my secondary school eons ago, but even I, who have lived in the East all my life, have never ventured past the fences to check what was there. My hazy memory tells me there used to be some hairdressing salon there once upon a time.

Anyway, Diamond Kitchen is one of the new kids on the block, having taken over the premises formerly occupied by some other restaurant. I am told that the owners, young entrepreneurs Josh Chow, 30 and Lambert Chen, 27 wanted to serve up Chinese seafood dishes in a restaurant setting, at cze char prices, hence the off the radar location. I think it’s a really smart move because they do have some what of a captive audience with the people living at Laguna Park, as well as all the other condos nearby but no other restaurants within walking distance.

This is Josh Chou, one of the owners of Diamond Kitchen, who looks younger than his 30 years…. The family is in the gem business, hence the name Diamond Kitchen. In case you were wondering. I have to agree, the name is rather befitting, as it really is a shiny gem of the East. In a way, I’m glad Diamond Kitchen is located in this quiet community, because that’s exactly the type of place i want to go for quiet family dinners. My mother accompanied me for this tasting and we both agreed that would have to bring my father here to check it out.